ANN ARBOR, Mich., -- The women's basketball team made a dry run of the Big Ten this season and has announced its presence with authority.

As Coach Rene Portland scrambled to find a slate for the 1991-92 season, she was able to latch onto 10 games against eight Big Ten opponents. Due to this, the Lady Lions had a goal this season as they played the role of an independent -- to win their own Big Ten title.

After finishing the season out last Sunday with a 88-47 win at Michigan, Penn State came away from its role as a conference observer with an 8-2 record, second to Iowa who finished at 16-2. Overall, the Lady Lions were 23-6 with a season full of road games and top-ranked opponents.

Kathy Phillips, a Michigan native, enjoyed her homecoming at the Michigan game by leading all scorers with 15 points as well as all rebounders with 10. Penn State held the Wolverines to 26 percent shooting and out-rebounded them 53-27.

With success like that, Portland and the team believe that this Big Ten rehearsal will be important as Penn State is indoctrinated into the conference next year. Because the Big Ten has become so competitve this year, it would be difficult for the Lady Lions to play two straight years of a conference schedule without previous experience.

"I'm glad we could play so many teams in the Big Ten. I think that will really help our players next year," Portland said. "In most cases you couldn't go back on previous games and work with the knowledge the kids had. That will help us next year in the fact that we have played some of these players and our players will be familiar with names and facilities."

But this year hasn't just been a tour of St. John Arena, Crisler Arena and Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The season has been a sample of Penn State's immediate future.

For the four senior players, the Big Ten experience has been a nice farewell present but for the younger players it has been a trial by fire that most have taken advantage of.

Sophomore Carla Coleman was glad that Portland was able to get what Big Ten games she could and that the sneak peek will help Penn State in the long run. Besides learning the players and strategies of their future conference foes, the team has also picked up the mental facets of its new home.

"Going into next year we have an idea of what it's like to play in the Big Ten," Coleman said. "I think we're looking forward to trying to catch our first Big Ten trophy and hopefully its a big step for us coming out 8-2 in the Big Ten."

Originally, the Lady Lions started slow in their Big Ten pursuits. The second game of the season produced a 58-55 loss at Purdue and Penn State received a quick reality check.

"I think we played a little scared, especially at that Purdue game," Kim Lazor said. "We ran with them but we didn't put it away. Purdue woke us up with our first loss -- we were stunned."

That game, coupled with the loss at Iowa a month later, did more to help the Lady Lions than they originally thought. Instead of getting down on themselves, the Lady Lions took the games in and used them to pick themselves up and move in the right direction. When Illinois and Ohio State came into town, the team knew what it needed to correct on the court.

One group particularly excited about the schedule were the rookies. Freshman Shelby Thayer made her impression on the Big Ten with her performance at Michigan. In five minutes, she scored six points on 3-for-3 shooting and ended the game with a ferocious block.

Redshirt freshman Missy Masley, who missed most of last year with a shoulder injury, hopes that the games this year improve her play as the competition gets even tougher next season.

"It's a look into the future to see what were up against," she said. "It's what the players are like and the competition, size and speed -- all the things you pick up. Then you see how the seniors handle it and you try to emulate them."